Happy New **YOU** Year!!

Hi Family,

As you read this Wednesday's Mona Girl Blog, we are perched on the close of 2014 and walking boldly into 2015!!  Last night, I read a devotional message by my friend Shellie entitled: "What to Do When You're Wondering What's Next."  The MAJOR takeaway for me was the "Biblical" importance of the numbers 2014 and 2015 (shout out to my numbers buddy Fidal!!).  As Shellie explained in her devo, in the Bible, 14 means "Deliverance" and 15 means "Rest".  As one who's had a very productive 2014, being that I completed two intense God-ordained Assignments (both of which you will read about in future Mona Girl Blogs), I am soooooo looking forward to God's DELIVERANCE from 2014 and Him moving me into a Season of REST in 2015!! Shellie's entire devotional is very POWERFUL and great "food for the soul" at this point in our lives.  If you want to view the entire read shoot me an email at wincty@aol.com.

For those of you who know me, you know I am ALLLLL about God confirming His Mighty Hand in my life through Scripture.  And to piggy back on my "Deliverance", the Scripture that defines 2014 for me is: "We seem to be dying, and yet we are still alive. We have been punished, but never killed, and we are always happy even in times of suffering.  Although we are poor, we have made many people rich.  And though we own nothing, everything is ours." (2 Corinthians 6:9-10) LOL!  I know that seems to be a tad sad with a splash of despair but in reality it holds lots of POWER and ENCOURAGEMENT for me.  When I read it, I am INSPIRED!  And as far as 2015 goes?!?  I am excited about boldly walking into God's Season of "Rest" for Mona with these two Scriptures tattooed on my heart:  "However, as it is written: What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9) AND "You have granted him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips." (Psalm 21:2) Oh Yeah!! That's what I'm talking about!! I urge you to get one or two Scriptures that define where you were in 2014 as you move forward into 2015.  Insert your name into the Scriptures to make God's Word personal to you.  I PROMISE it will give you a rush of energy and lift your spirits so you can walk into 2015 with POWER and AUTHORITY!  And if you're feeling it, would LOVE for you to share your Scriptures in the Mona Girl Blog comments.

As we close out this New Year's Eve post, I want to share two emails with you that truly touched my heart this year.  One is from my friend Frank (who is also THE BEST Spin Instructor in the WORLD) and the other is from a dear friend and colleague, Victor Chears. Both men are Angels in my life!!

"While waiting to see if we were going to jump or not, I took a picture of the 
scenery.  It’s funny how you plan on doing one thing and God then makes you drive two 
hours on a Sunday. Then makes you wait in the middle of an open field and makes 
you look up to the sky, just to tell you that his plans for you aren’t what you 
planned for yourself, but not to worry because it will all work out.  Thought 
you might enjoy seeing what my conversation with God looked like yesterday." 

(Frank Salzone)

******************************************************

"This season I felt compelled to use the image of the 1,500 year-old Angel Oak in South Carolina for my holiday message.  Standing in its presence was a humbling experience.  In addition to its above ground magnificence, I imagined the interconnections found below the surface, and the power of its deep and complicated roots.  I also wondered about the "nature" of this mighty being and the lessons it offers such as perseverance, commitment to growth, capacity to withstand adversity, and generosity to other living things.  For 2015, I'm encouraging each of us to consider "what is it that I am rooted in and how can I channel the essence of the Angel Oak?" My pledge is to be actively engaged with who and what matters most to me - family, community, faith, conscious living, justice, courage, and love.  May the New Year bring you good health, joy, fulfillment, and a sense of rootedness in the ideals and values that have meaning in your life.  Peace" (Victor Chears)

 

HAPPY BLESSED NEW YEAR Family!!!

Continued Success and Blessings!!


God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" (Ephesians 3:20, MSG)

Our Christmas Story

Hello Family,

I thought it would be nice, being Christmas Eve and all, to share OUR Fave Christmas Stories/Memories. What do you think?  Are you in? I hope so.  I want to see many, many comments on Mona Girl Blog today.

But before we get into OUR own Christmas/Holiday Stories, let's take a look at the REAL (full length Bible Version) of The Christmas Story.....the Story of the Birth of our Jesus.....our Messiah.....our Savior! His story is so AWESOME and a bit too long to post on Mona Girl Blog but please check out this Link and share it with family and friends: The Christmas Story (KJV) This is truly the Reason for the Season. 

Now let's get into Mona's Fave Christmas Memories.....As a little girl growing up in South Bend, IN, the weeks leading up to Christmas were filled with much Joy and Love........from my Christmas Dance troupe from JoAnn Brines School of Dance making the rounds to the various nursing homes and senior centers with our "mobile Christmas Program"; to special Christmas Church Programs with me singing in the Inspirational Choir; to heading out as a family to pick out THE BEST Live Christmas Tree that was meticulously decorated with hand-made ornaments from Mark and my various craft classes along with ornaments that spanned the years holding special family memories with my Mother's final touch of draping the entire Christmas Tree with lots and lots of shiny silver tinsel; to our park across the street from our home glistening in the sunlight with a fresh coat of snow; to the festive Holiday Parties my parents had at our home which at an early age sparked my Gift of Hospitality......my Mother was truly the "Hostess with the Mostess"; to helping Mommy in the kitchen prepare her Annual "60 course" Christmas Dinner which offered our family and guests waaaaayyyyy too many choices; to baking my famous chocolate chip cookies (Pillsbury Refrigerator Cookies) served with a side of hot cocoa for Santa; to being up at the crack of dawn on Christmas Day to open my gifts under the Tree; to watching my family open their gifts that I purchased with such care; to winding down an AMAZING Holiday Season by sitting on the couch falling asleep between Mommy and Gannie before Daddy made the trek out to take the grand parents home loaded down with gifts and food :)  YEAH! Christmas' at the Eskridge household were the Bomb! Thank You Lord for such wonderful Christmas Memories......I am TRULY Blessed!! Hallelujah......I AM BLESSED!!!

Now It's YOUR TURN!! No need to be long winded like me (LOL!).  Please just share a sentence or two or three of your Fave Christmas/Holiday Memory....Thank You :)

As I close today's Special Christmas Eve Post, I urge you again to be mindful of the REAL Reason for the Season.  Let's make it a point to continue to keep **CHRIST** in Christmas!! "Christmas is about God breaking into humanity, shattering time, and becoming life and hope and help to all mankind.  He came to show us who God really is. He came to teach us how to live, walk, and talk as spiritual people. But most importantly, He came so that we might have a full, intimate relationship with the Father He knew so well. Jesus’ job was to secure our salvation."
(Dr. Charles Stanley). 

Wishing you and your families a BLESSED, BLESSED Christmas/Holiday and MERRY New Year!!

"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6-7, NKJV)

Trust & Obey.........#NotEasy!!!!

Hello Family,

Today's post is one that I am WALKING OUT EVERY DAY!! For those of us who grew up in church, there is a hymn that I remember so clearly: "Trust and Obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to Trust and Obey."  Remember that? Whewee!  Easier said than done, right?!?

When I finally got to the point when I truly decided to Trust and Obey God, it resulted in a very humbling and sometimes painful process.  There were (and still are) times when *Trusting God* and *Being Obedient to God* is very difficult.  It doesn't always fit the "Mona Life Blue Print" LOL! There are times when God has asked me to TRUST Him when I'm at the edge of the cliff and He's asking me to step off and TRUST Him to catch me. There are times when God has asked me to OBEY Him with the most radical and ridiculous requests!! Over the last 3 1/2 years since God moved me to NYC on April Fools Day, 2011 (Yeah! God Truly has a sense of humor), there have been times when OBEYING God has made me look sooooo foolish and at times I've been sooooo embarrassed and humbled BUT I Promised Him that I would Trust Him so I remain Obedient! 

Because I continue to radically Trust and Obey God, I find myself in good company with some of the Mighty Men and Women of the Bible who participated in God's School of Trust & Obedience :) Take Joshua and God's bizarre request for him to lead his army in marching around the city of Jericho seven days and when the trumpet sounded on the seventh day, the army was to give a loud shout and the wall of Jericho collapsed (Joshua 6, NIV); take Noah who at 500 years old (500 YEARS OLD) with no architecture or ship building skills, God gave specific, detailed instructions to build an Ark and take two of EVERY living creature with him on the Ark (Genesis 6, 7 and 8, NIV); take Mary, a VIRGIN, who was told she would give birth to Jesus!! The Messiah (Luke 1:26-38, NIV); take Gideon who was the exact opposite of a "Mighty Warrior" who God commanded to go and save Israel out of Midian's hand with ONLY 300 men (Judges 6 and 7).  Whewee! Now these are mind blowing examples of **REAL** people from the Bible who put it ALL on the line in order to Trust and Obey God.  No matter what other folks said about them, no matter how bizarre and radical God's commands, instructions, requests, no matter their qualifications/experience - they Stepped Out On Faith because God Said So! Oh Yeah!!!.......They graduated summa cum laude from God's School of Trust & Obedience!!

I continue to learn and see that God's Trust and Obey request is not easy but ohhhhh the Blessings that come from my compliance to His requests are AWESOME.....ranging from a deeper, intimate, loving, one-on-one relationship with my Savior, to increased financial provision, to being a more powerful and confident Disciple/Witness for Him, to having a genuine and humble spirit that brings about real and authentic relationships with others, to having dreams and goals planted in Mona by my Lord that are beyond my wildest imaginations.....dreams that have and will continue to become my reality because of my Trust and Obedience!! 

Family, please note that whenever God asks us to Trust and Obey Him, there is ALWAYS a Bible Verse to back up His request and to confirm His Promise.  The Scripture that's been riding shotgun with me on my Trust and Obey journey is: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..." (Ephesians 3:20, NIV). Yeah nuf said :)

  

Shout out to all of you who are on this journey with me.  It's a hard and humbling road at times but we will be better men and women for ourselves, family and friends on the other side of it. If you want to Pray with me or need personal Prayer to keep you focused, encouraged and Faithful on your Trust and Obey journey, shoot me an email at wincty@aol.com.  Like I said in the inaugural Mona Girl Blog post, the blogs purpose is to build each other up and keep each other encouraged! This is TRULY what life is all about :)

Well, that's all I have for you today and I think this is more than enough for us to meditate on, LOL! Enjoy today's Powerful closing quote, it sums up our Wednesday post quite nicely don't you think?  :)

“As a follower of Jesus Christ, he expects you to obey whatever he tells you to do — even if it appears foolish to other people, even if it doesn’t make sense financially, even if you don’t understand it and you’re scared to death." -Rev. Rick Warren

Much Love and Blessings!!

Spiritual Mission Statement

Hi Family,

Let me first begin today's post by saying **THANK YOU!!!** to all of YOU for checking out Mona Girl Blog's Inaugural Post and for the overwhelming positive and humbling feedback!! As I posted on my Facebook page, Mona Girl Blog is NOT about Mona but about Mona being Obedient to God's Will! With that said, I am excited about today's post.

Now for a little history on how today's post came about.  My friend Shellie Warren, who writes an AMAZING Blog for Single Women: "On Fire" Fast Movement was who God used to give me the FINAL nudge to launch Mona Girl Blog.  The Holy Spirit has been whispering to me to "do it" and I kept putting it off.......and on Tuesday after circulating a cool exercise to the Mona Must Read Family (email me if you want to be added to the E-group), Shellie replied instantly with "Mona, you need to create your own Blog " and here I am...finally!!  "Thanks Shellie for your never ending encouragement and love".  The Lord truly speaks to us through our friends :) 

Hmph.......I seem to have gotten a tad off track........where was I going with all this?  Oh Yeah! "How today's post came about...." LOL!  OK, so today's post is about your Spiritual Mission Statement (the cool exercise I circulated to the Mona Must Read Family) and how we ALL have a *Purpose* to walk out in this life. Even though we are working in our particular career of choice (or seeking to), whether we realize it or not, we are still being used by God (or He is trying to get our attention in order to use us). As a result, we have a "dual role/purpose" for our lives........we are here to be His Servants while Working an Earthly Job which brings us to our individual Spiritual Mission Statement.  

My Spiritual Mission Statement is: I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Meeting and Event Producer! Again, I have a dual *Purpose* as I walk out Mona's life journey......Serving My Lord while Producing Client Meetings and Events.  I want to ALWAYS reflect His Spirit and His Light when interacting with my clients and their attendees. Not in an overpowering, religious fanatic, "fire and brim stone" kind of way (LOL!) but in a subtle, "what's that special thing that Mona has?" kind of way. It is truly Awesome when a client comes up to me and says......"Mona, how do you stay so calm while under such pressure producing our Meeting?" or "Mona, why don't our 1000+ attendees asking you/your staff the same stupid questions over and over and over again get you rattled?"  I stand tall and strong with a smile on my face and reply - "It's easy.......I have an inner Peace that keeps me calm." And to be completely honest, I have been with most of my clients so long that they know that "Inner Peace" is my Faith :)  AND sometimes a client will come to me for Prayer prior to their Meeting or Event to ensure its Success!! Oh Yeah! #GreatFeeling!

Now it's your turn.  Please take a moment to reply to me in the Comment Section of Mona Girl Blog and complete Your Own Personal Spiritual Mission Statement: 

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a _________________________

And for the Mona Must Read Family who have already completed this cool exercise, check out some of the replies I've received:

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Television Producer!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Speech-Language Pathologist!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Massage Therapist!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Covenant Doula!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Culinary Artist!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Professional/Private Chauffeur!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Marketing and PR Consultant!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Judicial Assistant/Courtroom Deputy! (to the best boss in the world!)

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as an Energy Developer!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Business Owner!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as an Accountant!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Physician and Healer!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Referral and Transition Specialist and Limo Driver!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Therapist and Healer!

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as an Accessories Designer and Maker, Mechanical Engineer and Milliner! 

I am a SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD manifesting as a Non-food Manager at a local grocery store!

Oh Yeah!! This really puts things in perspective doesn't it? No matter what you do as your career, you are His Servant first and foremost.  And we know our Lord has unlimited resources and we know He LOVES to reward His Obedient Servants!! Whewee! I can speak from personal experience, the more I Shine with His Light onsite with my clients, the more He Blesses me!!  Larger accounts (i.e. my Tithe increases!!), more client bonuses and perks, extra luxury hotel amenities from housekeeping staff (LOL!!), more $$ to pay it forward to Bless others and Glorify God, upgraded flights, etc.  IT IS ALL GOOD :)

Well, that's all I've got for you today.  Thanks for being interactive and completing your

Spiritual Mission Statement.  See how Peaceful you feel?  Keep walking this way and YOU will not be able to contain God's Many and Mighty Blessings!!! 

And those aren't just empty words on Mona Girl Blog.....It's God's PROMISE to ALL of us!!  
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

Much Love and Blessings!!

Mona Girl Blog Inaugural Post!! Yah God!

Ok. Guys!  Welcome to Mona Girl Blog.  This is my Official First Mona Girl Blog Posting!! And for my inaugural post, I have decided to share my FAVE Scripture with you.  It's perfect for the time of Season we are in, coming up on Christmas and the Birth of Baby Jesus.  I truly feel we should all have a few fave Scriptures to keep us going, inspire us throughout our life journey. I learned my fave Scripture, or what I like to call "My Life Verse", in Mrs. Dorish's 1st Grade Class at Calvary Temple Day School in South Bend, IN. "For Nothing is Impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

The back story on My Life Verse is based on an Angel from God coming to speak to Mary (a Virgin) telling her she would give birth to the Messiah........Jesus!! Yeah. Right! Could you imagine!?! An ordinary woman, and a Virgin who has Favor with the Lord and doesn't realize it, being told that she will soon give birth to JESUS!  That's a Mighty Blessing and one that could only manifest through the Power and Miracle of God's Awesome direction!  I still believe God does Miracles each and EVERY day.  I know because I am living proof. Sooooooo, Mary and I can give a shout out to God because we both know from personal experience that "For Nothing is Impossible with God."

To get the full picture, understand the history of the text and see how God made sure ALL this came about, click here: The Birth of Jesus Foretold

OK! Well, that's all I've got for today.  I will make a point to end each Mona Girl Blog post with a Scripture or Quote. So below is my inaugural post ending Quote. Thanks for checking in. Continued Success and Blessings!

"Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it." -Wilferd Peterson